Can Rabbits Eat Celery

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can rabbits eat celery

Can rabbits eat celery? Before we discuss celery specifically, we need to develop a better understanding about the kinds of foods that are good for your pet rabbit to ensure a well-balanced diet and good health for your precious pet.

In the long-term, your adult rabbit would need a balanced diet which has rich fiber content. The best options are hay, fresh vegetables and rabbit food, with smaller quantities of natural seeds such as flax seeds.

The basic rule you need to follow is to feed your rabbit the kind of foods that it is adapted to eating regularly.

Rabbits Love Grass!

In their natural habitats, rabbits mostly eat grass, grazing up to even six to eight hours in a usual day. The chewing and digestive system of a rabbit is adapted to this as is obvious by the shape of its teeth. Therefore, it is extremely important for your pet rabbit’s health that you provide it hay or grass as a routine.

Rabbit Teeth Continue To Grow

You may be surprised to know that rabbits’ teeth are continuously growing and erupting! Eating hay or grass helps to ensure the extensive chewing that is essential for the health of their teeth.  It also keeps these intelligent animals from getting bored. Hay or grass should form 80% of your rabbit’s diet.

Leafy Green Vegetables

For a well-balanced diet, the rabbit should also have an abundant quantity of fresh vegetables, approximately two cups of leafy greens for each kg of its body weight. This can include celery, spinach, broccoli or carrot tops.

can rabbits eat celery

Can Rabbits Eat Celery And How Much Is Safe To Eat?

Yes, rabbits can enjoy celery as a treat. As most rabbits love celery, there is a good possibility that your rabbit will love it too! You must however, be careful to add it to your rabbit’s diet very gradually. Feeding your rabbit too much celery all at once may lead to digestive problems, possibly diarrhea or even death.

The Benefits Of Celery

Celery contains vitamin C, B1, B2, and B6. Celery is also a good source of potassium, folic acid, calcium and fiber. It also contains phytochemical compounds which are effective in cancer prevention, lowering blood pressure and helping with migraines. Just remember to offer celery in moderation. Feeding excess celery to your bunny may lead to digestive issues and other health problems.

Add Other Fresh Vegetables

Fresh vegetables form an important and integral part of your pet rabbit’s diet; however, you need to ensure that vegetables such as celery are fed to it in the right proportion. The other main components of a rabbit’s diet are primarily grass or hay, while pellets are also very important.

Pellets Ensure Essential Nutrients

It is very important that you feed your rabbit pellets as this ensures that it gets sufficient quantities of vitamins, minerals, necessary amino acids and several of the nutrients mandatory for the rabbit’s good health. Choose only good quality rabbit pellets that contain ingestible crude fiber content and use these in moderate quantity only. These should not form a major component of your pet’s diet.

Whole Oil Seeds

Flax seeds or any other such seeds are good for your rabbit. These should be whole oil and in ground form. They provide essential nutrition such as vitamin E and ensure that your rabbit has a healthy digestive system and a rich fur coat.

Observe The Rabbit Droppings

If you decide to start feeding celery to your rabbit for the first time, make sure you observe the droppings carefully for any visible change in shape, smell or consistency.

Rabbits usually produce droppings of two kinds. There are the dry, hard kind that are real faeces. The shiny, smelly and dark droppings are known as caecotrophs and your rabbit probably eats them straight. If you are a first time rabbit owner this may upset you, but rest assured, as this is completely natural. Rabbits do this to get the complete goodness and nutrition from their high-fiber meals.

Treats Are Good

You may offer treats to your rabbit, but these should be in small quantities only. These could include root vegetables such as sweet potato and carrot, capsicum or most kinds of fruits. You should avoid feeding your pet grain and cereal mixes.

Offer Safe Alternatives For Chewing

You can offer other things that your rabbit can chew on, like old telephone books or wooden blocks.

Clean Fresh Water

Your rabbit must always have clean fresh water to drink at all times. Replace the bowl frequently as the rabbit may make it dirty by walking through it. A pet rabbit would usually like to drink more water from a clean, heavy crock than from a sipper bottle.

Rabbits Like Routines

Establish and maintain consistent feeding routines. If you do decide to make any changes to your pet’s feeding routine or diet, it should be done very gradually so that its digestive system is not upset.

Baby Rabbits

If your pet rabbit is a baby, it will require a diet that is rich in nutrients and provides high levels of energy. The carbohydrate and sugar level should be low the fat content should be higher, to be a suitable replacement for the mother’s milk. A balanced and nutritious diet early on ensures that your baby rabbit grows up healthy and builds a strong and healthy nutritional foundation for your baby rabbit which will continue helping it through the years.

Conclusion

Can you give your rabbit celery? The answer is yes! Your rabbit is sure to love celery! But use celery only as a treat and it may be advisable to cut a celery stick up in small pieces so that the strings do not get stuck in your rabbit’s teeth. Large quantities of celery may cause digestive issues and should be avoided. Remember, moderation is the key here!

Additionally, when introducing any new foods to your furry pet, make sure you do it gradually and in small quantities. Observe your bunny for any unusual behavior. If you notice that your bunny is having a loose stool or tummy discomfort, stop feeding him this food. It’s always a good idea to consult with your pet first when adding any new foods to your pet’s diet. There are plenty of foods that are safe for humans but harmful for rabbits. Make sure you steer clear from foods not meant to be fed to rabbits such as corn (fresh or dried), crackers, cookies, seeds, nuts, oatmeal, and breakfast cereals.

 

Related Articles:

Can Rabbits Eat Radishes

Can Rabbits Eat Zucchini

References:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/going_green_oct_06.pdf

http://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/the-keys-to-better-care/rabbits/diet

https://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/can-rabbits-eat-celery/

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

 

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